boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council

PART II: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR 2012 – 2018 & BEYOND Chapter 6: Built & Natural Heritage
A quirky historic panel, possibly for
advertising.
A historic iron bracket graces a façade
which is marred by the leaking
downpipe adjacent.
The block nearest the river on the west side.
A very fine townhouse, possibly once
two separate buildings.
The west side of Bridge Street opens at the bridge with a large new development and
access to the riverside walk; it has referenced some of the themes of the historic town
centre such as the channelled ground floor and painted rendered elevations and
retained the overall building lines, but the window shapes should have been more
classical and the windows given a painted finish. The two Daly’s buildings contribute
positively to the character of the street and the corner one, with its extension along the
lane, appears to be very old; the taller one however has had its protective historic
render removed. Inside is a collection of historic photos of the ACA.
Across the lane, the three-storey terrace begins to climb the hill starting with a good
three-bay building with its painted rendered façade and attractive shopfront beneath
later accretions with cast-iron columns and a good five-panelled door to the side.
Beside it is a very fine four-bay building with stucco architraves and a central roundheaded
door with original panelled door and spoked fanlight; it has two shopfronts
but the fascia of the smaller shopfront projects too much. The Royal Shopping Arcade
has a neglected downpipe and blocked gutters, too many redundant fixings on its
elevation as well as a poorly-designed shopfront, all of which detract from what
could be quite a pleasant building. This is followed by a good group of four buildings
which manages to maintain a symmetry (despite rising up the hill), being composed
of a central pair flanked by a lower building either side; Moriarty’s retains its
character and enhances the ACA through the sympathetic way its shopfront has been
altered and renewed and sash windows retained. Most of these buildings have slated
roofs with a lovely patina of age and substantial rendered chimney stacks which
create a rhythm at the skyline. When chimney stacks are removed or omitted as at the
new Phoenix House, next to the south, this rhythm is disturbed and the resultant
visual gap is also disturbing.
A poorly-designed shopfront with too deep a
fascia and pilasters located in the wrong
positions as well as plethora of redundant
fittings on the elevation over and poorlyfunctioning
gutter and downpipe, detracts from
the streetscape.
A good group of four buildings with
slated roofs and a partially historic
shopfront and sash windows on left. The
unpainted building is one of the only
ones in the area which could be left
unpainted.
Either side of Quarry Lane is a modest three-bay two-storey building which marks the
drop in height in the building line here. To the rears of these two buildings is a fine
pair of stone warehouses, once much more common in the backlands of the town and
essential to serve the busy market town it was. The rest of the final terrace south to
the junction with Termon Road is composed of three very modest vernacular
buildings which have lost much of their historic features but retain their overall form,
whose eaves lines step up the hill, the most southern one was allegedly a cinema in
1939. The terrace finishes with the corner grocery shop, with an imposing form,
different but interesting and with two quirky octagonal windows, but with
unnecessarily obtrusive signage and colour scheme. The route becomes Elphin Street
with the site of the former Union Workhouse and Fever Hospital, now a health board
Boyle Local Area Plan 2012-2018 Page 65